Corolyn
A feminine name derived from the French form of "Caroline", meaning "womanly".
Name Census estimates that about 25 living Americans carry the first name Corolyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Corolyn today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Corolyn births was 1943 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Corolyn. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Corolyn. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
25
~ 1 in 13,710,174 Americans
Peak year
1943
6 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
1970 SSA rank
#7,224
Tracked since 1943
Popularity
Corolyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Corolyn from the 1940s through to the 1970s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 11 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1960s peak, Corolyn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Corolyn by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Corolyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Corolyn
The given name Corolyn is a variant spelling of the more common name Caroline, which has its roots in the Germanic languages. The name Caroline is derived from the masculine name Carolus, the Latin form of Charles, meaning "free man" or "manly."
The earliest recorded use of the name Caroline can be traced back to the 9th century, when it was used by members of the Carolingian dynasty, a prominent ruling family in medieval Europe. One of the most notable figures to bear this name was Charlemagne's daughter, Caroline, who lived from 776 to 828.
In the 12th century, the name gained popularity across Europe, particularly in France and Germany. During this time, it was often spelled as Karoline or Karoline. One significant bearer of the name was Caroline of Ansbach (1683-1737), the wife of King George II of Great Britain.
As the name spread to other regions, different spellings and variants emerged, including Corolyn. This particular spelling is believed to have originated in English-speaking countries, possibly as an attempt to make the name more phonetic or distinctive.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Corolyn or its variant spellings. One example is Corolyn Lindo (1940-2008), a Jamaican writer and activist known for her work in promoting Caribbean literature and culture. Another is Corolyn Porco (born 1953), an American convicted murderer who gained notoriety for the 2004 murders of her father and stepmother.
Other famous Corolyns include Corolyn Cassady (1923-2013), an American writer and former wife of Beat Generation author Neal Cassady, and Corolyn Weston (born 1951), an American actress and singer best known for her role in the TV series Soap.
While these examples span different eras and backgrounds, they all share the common thread of bearing a name with a rich history and cultural significance, rooted in the Germanic languages and the Carolingian dynasty.
People
Corolyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Corolyn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Corolyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Corolyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 25 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Corolyn going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 13,710,174 US residents.
Is Corolyn a common name?
We classify Corolyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 34 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Corolyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Corolyn was 1943, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Corolyn is about 64 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Corolyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Corolyn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Corolyn in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Corolyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Corolyn in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Corolyn can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Corolyn?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.